


On Manipulation and Blackmail

by Nebilas



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien has to leave, Angst, F/M, Gabriel is the worst, I'll add tags as they become relavant, Marinette is sad, Rena Rogue is Called in to help LB, Reveal happens pretty quickly in this, SADrien, emotional and physical abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16083167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebilas/pseuds/Nebilas
Summary: With two days of high school left, Gabriel summons Adrien to his office and tells him he's sending him to America. Adrien is devastated and is fully prepared to tell his father no, but Gabriel has ways of making his son cooperate...Marinette, three years after meeting the love of her life, still hasn't confessed to him. But after a conversation with her mom, she realizes that maybe her chances are running out, so she heads to school, intent on telling him how she feels, whatever feelings she may or may not hold for a certain black cat aside...There... May or may not be lemons, but if they do come in, I will (A) switch its rating, and (B) Tell you in advance





	1. Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> If you've seen this before on fanfic.net, I'm actually rewriting this. So this version is actually very different from that one, soooo... Sorry... But overall I'm actually much more satisfied with this version than the other one. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

_"There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison."_

_-Jane Austen, 'Persuasion'_

 

**Chapter 1**

 

Adrien staggered out of his father’s office clutching his cheek. He snagged a livid Plagg by the tail, preventing the small kwami from flying back into the room. What Plagg’s plan consisted of once he actually got in the office was anybody’s guess, but Adrien knew that if he let his kwami go, it would spell disaster for the both of them.

 

Reaching his room, he stepped through his doorway, closing it with a calm he didn’t really feel. Plagg growled and flew across the room, landing aggressively in the makeshift bed Adrien had made him years ago, still seething. If Adrien new anything about his kwami, Plagg would be making his opinion known relatively soon.

 

Adrien leaned against his door and slid down, tucking his chin in between his knees and folding his arms around them. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, feeling lost. He had two days of school left.

 

He was finishing top of the class, second to none. Flawless grades across the board. He’d just won the Under 21 National Fencing Tournament a week ago. Yesterday, he’d been on the shortlist of “Most Attractive French Teens”, something Nathalie had told him his father found vital.

 

And it didn’t matter.

 

It had _never_ mattered. Not to him, and certainly not to his father. When he’d been younger, he’d entertained the idea that maybe if he did well enough, his father would actually pay attention. Maybe he’d be proud of his son's accomplishments. Ten years of overscheduling, neglect, and excuses had dispelled that illusion.

 

Adrien was fifteen when he first admitted to himself that the relationship he held with his father wasn’t getting better. His father didn’t bother giving him excuses for why he couldn’t attend his activities anymore. The only time he ever saw his father was when he’d done something wrong.

 

Which was why he’d braced himself as he’d walked to his father’s office, knowing if he kept his mouth shut and nodded politely, he’d get out relatively unscathed. Then his father had told him the reason he’d called him there.

 

He had argued. Forcefully and unrelentingly. His father denied him at every turn. They had fought for nearly fifteen minutes, which was when Gabriel decided he’d had enough and struck Adrien across the face. Adrien had no intention of letting this beat him but then he had felt Plagg start to press against his pocket. He fled.

 

He snapped himself from his thoughts and forced himself to stand up. He walked into his bathroom and stared at his face in the mirror. His father's handprint was still there, but Adrien knew from experience that  it would fade. He began to change, exiting the bathroom and tossing the shirt he’d put on into a laundry basket. He began browsing through his shirts, only half focused. He grabbed a blue one, but frowned when he noticed it had the American flag on it. He shook his head.

 

America. Where his dad was sending him.   _“To promote the company.”_ Adrien snorted. _Spread the disease more like._  He thought bitterly.

 

Plagg chose this moment to make his opinion vocal while chewing angrily on some camembert.

 

“I give you full permission to go cataclysmic on his ass,”  He said loudly. Adrien ignored him. “Come on you can’t let him do this to you kid.”  A pause. “Kid listen to me.” He floated in front of his chosen. “You need to do something. He _hit_ you.”

 

“I’ve had worse,”  Adrien said, rolling his eyes.

 

“Stuff it kid,”  Plagg growled. “He’s abusing you and you need to tell someone.”

 

“Like who?”  Adrien snarled.  “Who can _possibly_ help me right now? The police are useless, I can’t bring my friends into this, and Ladybug has enough of her own problems without worrying about mine.”  A thought struck him, and the blood drained from his face. “Ladybug.” He whispered.

 

“You pretending to rave about her won’t distract me,”  Plagg huffed.

 

“No Plagg listen. Ladybug would be by herself,”  He snapped.

 

Plagg stared at him confused, but comprehension quickly dawned.  “Oh this is bad,” he muttered. “You’re going to have to talk to Master Fu.”

 

“I gathered that,”  Adrien replied dryly, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He eyed his shirtless torso which was, by all accounts, flawless. Well.. Nearly. The scars occasionally distracted from the muscles. He had exactly eight scars to show from his time on Earth. Six were from being Chat Noir. One was from a tumble when he was a child. The last one….

 

Adrien pulled down the waistband of his shorts to get a view of his hip. A jagged scar sat there. A constant reminder of what his father could and would do to him.

 

“When did you get this?”  Plagg whispered. Adrien jumped. He hadn’t noticed Plagg float in front of him.

 

“About a month before I met you.”  Adrien said, voice casual.

 

“He did this to you didn’t he?”  Plagg snarled.

 

“Yes he did,”  Adrien admitted, pulling on a shirt.  “Remember when I said the police were useless? This is why.”

 

“What happened?”  Plagg asked.

 

Adrien was a little surprised to hear a tremor in his voice.

 

Adrien sighed and grabbed his backpack.  “He’d been hitting me for a while at that point, so I did the “logical” thing. I went to the cops.”  He threw a binder into his bag aggressively. “What I _didn’t_ know is that he’d recently made a large donation to the police force. Long story short they weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of him being a child abuser, because where else would they get their extra money?”

 

Plagg chewed on this information for a few seconds before he spoke.  “There has to be something-”

 

“Plagg don’t worry about it. I’m fine,”  Adrien sighed.

 

Plagg scoffed.  “Now _that_ is bullshit.”

 

“Plagg please you don’t-”

 

“I don’t what?”  Plagg interrupted.  “I don’t understand that you’ve been abused by your own father for years? I don’t understand that even though he does this to you, you still care about him? Is _that_ what I don’t understand?”  Adrien remained silent and Plagg sighed.

 

“Adrien, look. I know you love him because he's your father and you don't want to lose him. He was your one source of love for years, no matter how distant and walled off he was. You’re afraid of losing him because… You…”  Plagg came to a startling realization. “ _That’s why you won’t tell Marinette how you feel!”_ He shrieked pointing a paw at Adrien accusingly. Adrien winced at the accusation, which was 100 percent true.

 

_Marinette…_ Somehow his raven haired classmate had wormed her way into his heart without even trying. Once she had gotten over her stutter around him, they had been able to start talking, and they talked all the time now. His visits to her as Chat had also become more frequent, and while she claimed to be annoyed by his appearances, he could see the pleasure in her eyes. His feelings had grown astronomically over the span of the previous summer, and he had finally admitted to himself (and Plagg albeit grudgingly) his feelings for his classmate.

 

But every time he wanted to tell her how he felt, he panicked. Something held him back. And he knew _exactly_ what it was. He was terrified of another rejection. Another person he loved turning their back on him. First his mother, then his father, and Adrien wasn’t sure if he could survive a rejection from his best friend. So that’s how he kept their relationship, hoping his feelings would become more platonic. Unfortunately, the more he had tried to do this, it almost seemed to become worse. In fact the only thing this had accomplished was him accepting that he would never be with Ladybug. He had now long accepted she was now only a friend and partner. A friend he loved but no more than that. But with Marinette… There was a point about three weeks ago when everything had almost changed. When he had almost slipped.

 

_“Bye guys!”  Mari laughed. Alya and Nino waved back and ran off, trying to catch up to the rest of the Cesaire family. Adrien smiled at the bluenette, his heart hammering in his chest. Now was the perfect opportunity. He could tell her how he really felt. But he didn't want to risk it. He couldn’t. He sighed and sat down on a nearby park bench.“You okay Adrien?”  Mari asked, plopping down next to him._

 

_“I'm fine.” he assured her.  “Just some stuff on my mind.”_

 

_“Like what?”  Marinette asked._

 

_“Meh. It’s nothing important,”  Adrien said, waving her off. “Just thoughts.”  ‘About how I love you. No big deal.’_

 

_“I know the feeling.”  Marinette sighed. Adrien glanced at her. Wait, was she… Blushing? His heart jolted a bit with newfound hope. Maybe… He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and he began lecturing himself on how not to blurt out his confession._

 

_Suddenly Marinette turned to him.  “Adrien… Can I be honest with you for a moment?”  Adrien cocked an eyebrow but nodded. “I…” She suddenly looked very nervous._

 

_“Take your time Mari.”  Adrien said with a smile. Marinette nodded and took a deep breath._

 

_Which was when the fountain across the courtyard exploded, completely killing the conversation._

 

Adrien frowned. The memory still made him angry. It of course had been an akuma forcing him to hide Marinette then transform. She had been about to tell him something, but every time he asked her about it now, she flushed red and changed the topic. It was not the first time this had happened and in fact, Chloe had interrupted Marinette telling him something or other several times. He had started to hope it was her about to confess but he had no proof and being the coward he was… He let it sit there. He turned his attention back to his Kwami who was glaring at him.

 

“Well it doesn't matter now, does it Plagg? I'm leaving Paris,”  Adrien snarled, tossing a stray pencil into his bag as he entered his room.

 

Plagg sighed, knowing his chosen had a point. But he knew how much Adrien cared for the girl, watching their relationship blossom from afar. He watched as his chosen packed up his bag with a frown. If anyone deserved to be happy it was Adrien. He shook his head and moved down to join his chosen.

 

Adrien picked up his bag and Plagg entered it. He spared a glance in the mirror as he passed it. The handprint was fading. It would be gone by the time he got to school.

 

XxXxXxXx

 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng took her Kwami seriously. Which was why when Tikki told her that Plagg was angrier than she'd ever felt him, she was concerned. She wondered if Chat had done something to piss off his Kwami. Chat had on several occasions asked her what she'd done to make Tikki “So damn happy” because Plagg had commented on it.

 

Tikki had explained that they couldn't really talk to each other but they could feel emotions. So now that she said Plagg was angry... Marinette wondered what had happened.

 

“Do you know why?”  Mari questioned. Tikki shook her head regretfully.

 

“I just know that he is. I hope Chat hasn't done something to make him angry.”  

 

Marinette nodded in assent. She focused on her bag again and frowned, knowing she was missing something. She realized her sketchbook was across the room and she retrieved it and added it to her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and opened her trapdoor as Tikki flew into her pocket and disappeared from view.

 

“Good morning Marinette!”  her mother greeted with a smile.

 

“Morning Mom,”  Mari said returning the smile. She glanced around.  “Is dad making a delivery?”

 

“Yes. He’ll be back later,”  Sabine said, moving around the corner and fetching a plate of eggs for Mari along with a glass of juice. Mari smiled warmly and took it to the table where she say and began to eat. Sabine was staring at her from across the table.

 

“Yges mahgm?”  Marinette swallowed her food as her mother’s lip twitched upwards.  “Yes Mom?”

 

“Your last year of high school is almost over.”  Marinette nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going.  “And you have grown into a remarkable young woman.” Mari flushed at the praise.  “However, I have noticed one thing that has not changed in the past three years.” Marinette frowned, trying to think of what her mother was talking about.  “Your crush on Adrien dear.”

 

Marinette immediately turned even redder and drank too much juice, sending her into a coughing fit. Once she recovered, she tried to formulate a response.

 

“I… Well… Yeah.”  she said lamely.

 

Sabine smiled.

 

“And,”  She continued.  “as far as I can tell from when he's here, he feels the same about you.”  Marinette was sure her jaw was hanging on the floor. “I highly doubt he will be willing to tell you. He's afraid of losing you,”  She explained gently, as Marinette made a confused expression. “And your time is running out. I think you should tell him.”

 

Marinette could not believe this. Tikki had always encouraged her and her mother always listened when she needed to talk about it but this was the first time Adrien had been brought up in this kind of conversation by someone other than herself. She swallowed.

 

“I've tried though Mom. Something always gets in the way. An Akuma, a rainstorm, Adrien's bodyguard, Adrien’s manager, and Chloe on three separate occasions.”  She said, sad and a little bitter.

 

“Try one last time Marinette. Tie him down if you have to. Tell him how you feel. And if he says yes... Maybe you can leave him tied up.”

 

“MOTHER!!”  Marinette screeched, burning red at the implication. She promptly wolfed down the rest of her breakfast trying to avoid eye contact. Sabine merely watched with an expression of amusement. Once she left (it had felt like hours but had really been about five minutes) Tikki popped out of her bag.

 

“Even your mother wants you to get some.”  she teased. Marinette was in a foul mood on her walk to school.

 

XxXxXxXx

 

Adrien was glad to be away from his house today. Another confrontation was not something he wanted quite yet. It would have to be done eventually, but for now he would try to put it out of his head. Adrien sighed and reclined in his chair coming face to face with Alya, though she did appear to be upside down.

 

“Hullo Alya!”  he said with a grin.   


“Hey Blondie.”  The reporter greeted, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde.  “Having fun there?”

 

Adrien nodded serenely, making Alya laugh.

 

“A lovely time. Um, have you seen Mari today? I need to talk to her.”  Adrien asked, feeling his nerves start to come back into play.

 

“Ooooh what do you want to talk to her about?”  Alya asked, her reporter senses tingling.

 

“Nothing,”  Adrien said, turning pink.

 

Alya grinned.  “Your cheeks say otherwise. She just entered the room,”  She said, pointing at the door. Adrien snapped his head up and waved casually at her with a smile. _Why does she look so nervous?_ He wondered as she walked over to him.

 

“Um… A-Adrien can we talk after school?”  Adrien raised his eyebrows. She hadn't stuttered around him in forever. _What could she want to talk about?_

 

“Yeah sure!”  he said with a smile.  “My locker?” Mari nodded and smiled back.

 

“Thanks.”  she moved up the stairs to join Alya at their table. Nino entered the room a few minutes later, about thirty seconds before the bell rang. He quickly ran up to Adrien and they tapped fists before he sank into his chair.

 

“That was close,”  Nino said, relaxing. He leaned back so he was looking at the girls and Adrien joined him.

 

“Hey babe.”  Nino said, wiggling his eyebrows at Alya.

 

“You two are dorks.”  Marinette giggled.

 

“And proud of it.”  Adrien grinned. The bell rang, signalling the start of class and Ms. Bustier walked in, closing the door behind her. Class began, but neither Marinette or Adrien could focus, and unfortunately for the two of them, the problem persisted throughout the day.

 

Marinette couldn’t draw to save her life, and Adrien kept dropping things, which he never did. Alya and Nino did not miss this and Alya had actually wriggled the truth out of Mari and the two were waiting in anticipation of what was going to happen. Nino had no doubt Adrien would say yes but Alya was nervous for her girl.

 

The final bell rang and Adrien stood up slowly. He prolonged his walk down the hall towards his locker, wondering what Mari could want to talk about. He was grateful that Chloe had decided not to show up for school. She had a habit of interrupting moments between he and Marinette. He reached his locker and collected the few things he needed for the night and he waited. He swallowed nervously when Mari finally turned the corner.

 

For her part, Mari thought she was holding herself together pretty well. When she turned the corner, half of her brain screamed that this was a terrible idea while the other half egged her on. She took deep calming breaths as she walked, trying not to panic.   _You can do this. Just tell him how you feel._ She told herself.

 

_You can do this. Just don’t blurt out how you feel and you’ll survive._ Adrien told himself. He saw her smile shyly and brush a stray hair away from her forehead. He froze. _I can’t do this. God why does she have to be so cute._

 

“Hey,”  She said quietly.

 

“Hi!”  Adrien greeted, trying to be casual. He shut his locker and gave her a smile. She seemed to take encouragement from this and smiled back.  “So... What did you want to talk about?”

 

“Do you remember three weeks ago when I asked if I could be honest with you?”  

 

Adrien’s heart jolted, but he quickly quashed the feeling he’d gotten, and nodded instead.

 

At his confirmation she tensed took a deep breath.  “It’s about that.” She looked up at Adrien who nodded, still smiling.  “I…” She looked like she might throw up.

 

“Hey Mari relax. It’s okay.”  Adrien instructed, placing a hand on her shoulder.  “Breathe. But try to tell me before an akuma strikes this time.”  This at least elicited a small laugh from her, making his heart throb. He loved that laugh. She stayed silent for about five seconds when she looked him in the eyes.

 

“I’m in love with you.”  

 

Adrien’s world stopped. He staggered backwards a step and his back hit a locker. _This is my luck._ He thought in shock.

 

Adrien had not seen this coming. Not really. He had certainly imagined it happening, dreamed about it, but deep down he had always assumed he was interpreting her actions the way he wanted to see them. And now it turned out that she held the same feelings as he did.

 

_But of course it had to be now._ He thought, starting to feel numb. _Nine hours after my father tells me I’m leaving the country, probably forever._ Adrien shook his head back in forth in dismay and heard a gasp. His eyes flew open and he met Marinette’s eyes, whose eyes were starting to fill with tears.

 

“So… No?”  She whispered. Adrien can’t stand another second looking into her crystal blue eyes and pulls her into a hug. He feels tears in his own eyes.

 

“Marinette… I would love nothing more than to say yes.”  His heart felt heavy with the weight of his next words. “But I’m leaving France. My dad told me today. He’s moving me to America.”  He felt her freeze before she jolted out of his embrace and stared at him eyes wide.

 

“What? No…”  Adrien’s heart promptly fell into pieces at the despair he saw on her face. She was struggling to keep the tears at bay.  “When will you be back?” Adrien shut his eyes. He couldn’t do this to himself or her. He couldn’t see her cry.

 

“If things go the way my father wants them to… Not for the foreseeable future.”  He opened his eyes again and found Marinette standing there looking shell shocked. She had wrapped her arms around herself and was clearly on the verge of tears. Adrien crossed the space between them and pulled her into another embrace. This was too much for Mari and she burst into tears, sobbing into Adrien’s shirt.

 

Neither noticed two Kwamis peer out of their bags and look at their chosens, heartbreak etched across their faces as well.


	2. Overdue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a few talks with Chat Noir...

_“But it’s no use now,”  thought poor Alice,  “to pretend to be two people! Why, there’s hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!”_

_-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland_

 

**Chapter 2**

 

Marinette was not okay. She had ignored all texts from Alya and Nino, and couldn’t really see herself answering until she completely pulled herself together. The transcript of her and Adrien’s conversation echoed in her mind on repeat and she wasn’t entirely sure how to react. She knew what she _wanted_ to do; she’d made a list.

 

 

  * __Make Adrien stay in Paris__


  * _Transform into Ladybug_


  * _Break into the Agreste Manor_


  * _Tie up Gabriel Agreste with my yoyo_


  * _Use him as a punching bag_


  * _Sweep Adrien out of the Manor like a badass_



 

 

Unfortunately, the list that would most likely come into action was much less appealing.

 

 

  * __Cry about Adrien leaving Paris__


  * _Let Tikki try to console me over Adrien leaving Paris_


  * _Avoid Mom’s gaze as long as possible_


  * _Patrol with Chat Noir_


  * _Cry about Adrien leaving Paris_


  * _Cry to Alya about Adrien leaving Paris_


  * _Pretend to be okay for a few weeks until I stumble upon a picture in my phone of the two of us and cry all over again._



 

 

Adrien had offered to walk her home after their conversation, but she wasn’t sure she would be able to look at him without bursting into tears again, and frankly, he had looked about as distraught as she had. Instead they had walked to the front of the school and shakily embraced, neither entirely willing to let go. Then The Gorilla had shown up; Adrien’s father had added another photoshoot for that evening. Marinette had fought off tears as Adrien had driven away, and had walked home, oblivious to her surroundings. Tikki had tried to speak to her, if only to console her, but Marinette hadn’t been able to really process the words...and wasn’t ready to put in the effort to do so.

 

When she had finally reached the bakery, Marinette quickly disappeared up the stairs into her room, closing the trapdoor behind her. Now, having unceremoniously crashed onto her bed, Marinette could only lay there, staring up at the ceiling. She stared at it blankly, blocking out the world around her, trying to let herself pretend the world was okay. She distantly felt Tikki cuddling against her cheek, murmuring something. Most likely words of encouragement, something the kwami always had in excess when Marinette needed them.

 

She heard a distant chiming noise and her brain registered that she had received a text message. After a few moments she worked up the courage to pick up her phone. A few minutes after that she actually looked at the message. She sighed at the other messages from Alya and Nino. The latest one - the one that caused her phone to ding - had come from the small group chat the four had going, Adrien being the sender.

 

_We all need to talk. I don’t know when works best for everyone, so let me know._

 

Alya swept in immediately; the girl was always on her phone.

 

_Why? What happened? Marinette won’t respond. I will kick your ass Agreste._

 

_Yeah and you’ve been ignoring mine too Adrien what’s up? -Nino_

 

_Guys, please just… Let me know when you can. Sooner the better. -Adrien_

 

_Now -Alya_

 

_Babe be reasonable -Nino_

 

_Can’t, otherwise I would. Another shoot today -Adrien_

 

_:3  I will get to the bottom of this. How does tomorrow at lunch sound? -Alya_

 

_Works for me. -Adrien_

 

_Ditto -Nino_

 

_Sure -Mari_

 

_You’re alive! -Alya_

 

_What the hell happened? Tell meeeee -Alya_

 

Mari wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but Adrien was nice enough to cut in.

 

_Tomorrow. -Adrien_

 

_Fine. -Alya_

 

With that the conversation ended. Marinette opened Alya’s and Nino’s texts without responding to them. She sighed and moved over to her desk, picking up a sketchbook, hoping to distract herself. After ten minutes she realized the page was still blank, and huffed resignedly, putting it away. She was going to get nothing done. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling again, cursing herself. She was a melting pot of emotions, but they all agreed on one thing. _Your fault._ They hissed.

 

 _If I had just told him how I felt earlier we could have had some time together. We could have had a real relationship, instead of dancing around each other for years._ The minute she had this thought Tikki floated into her field of view.

 

“Stop that,”  the small kwami admonished.

 

“Stop what?”  Marinette asked morosely.

 

“Blaming yourself for any of this. This is _not_ on you in any way, shape, or form. You finally told him you love him, and he loves you too! He just doesn't want you to wait for someone who might never be allowed to come back.”  

 

Marinette rubbed her eyes and nodded; her Kwami had a point.

 

“How did you know I was blaming myself?”  She questioned.

 

“You were wearing your ‘it's all my fault’ face.”  

 

Marinette cocked an eyebrow at this but didn't respond. She took her gaze off of her kwami and spared a glance at the analog clock on her desk.

 

“We might as well head out for patrol.”  Mari said, rising. “Chat is usually early anyways, and I need a distraction. Spots on!”  Marinette savored the feeling of the transformation washing over her, paused, then leapt out of her window. Streets and buildings flew by in blurs as she ran. She would be nearly thirty minutes early but she wanted to be in the open. She wanted to be the superhero Paris loved. She needed to escape the harsh reality of her other life, if just for a few hours.

 

To her immense surprise, Ladybug still wasn't at their meeting spot first. Chat was already there, sitting on the edge of the roof watching the sun descend on the Parisian skyline.

 

“Hey kitty!”  She said with overplayed, yet genuine, happiness. She didn’t need to bring her bad mood to this patrol. Lately the cat had been able to cheer her up immensely, and while she wouldn't tell him (at least not for now), Marinette had started to anticipate and hope for visits from the leather clad hero. However, tonight, when Chat turned around to face her, she knew something was very, very wrong. His normally luminous green eyes seemed dimmer than they usually were and the playful light that was ever present in them was strangely missing. Ladybug almost took a step back in shock. She’d only seen that look on his face a few times. She was able to regain her composure quickly enough that her partner didn’t notice, but internally, she was seething. The last time he’d looked like this, somebody had hurt him. She hadn’t been able to drag the truth of who it was out of him that time, but she’d _known._ She took a calming breath. Anger wouldn’t solve anything here. Well… Not yet.

 

“Chat… are you okay?”  she asked gently.

 

Chat could only shake his head. Ladybug could see tears begin to form in his eyes and she moved over to him.  

 

“Chat what's wrong? Talk to me.”

 

Chat began taking deep breaths, trying to keep his tears at bay.  “Sorry LB… I've just had a really shitty day.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”  she asked softly.

 

“I don't want to bother you my lady.”

 

“Well you wouldn't be bothering me because I asked.”  she pointed out. The absence of a smile on Chat’s face was unsettling. It was only hammering home just how off he was feeling. He stared off into nothing for a few moments.

 

“There's a lot my lady. Um… I had to reject someone today. And it hurt. It hurt so badly, I wanted nothing more than to say yes. She said she loved me and I love her too but I couldn't say yes.”  

 

Ladybug winced, feeling fresh tears come back to her own eyes. She had basically gone through the same thing and was about to tell him so, when Chat’s voice cut into her thoughts.  

 

“It's all my fault.”  Chat mumbled, staring out over the horizon again. “If I had told her how I felt sooner and hadn't been such a coward, maybe we could've had some time together.”

 

“Chat why can't you be with her?”  Ladybug asked softly.

 

“That’s the other thing,”  Chat took a shaky breath. “I'm leaving France.”  

 

For the second time that day Ladybug felt her world crumble around her. One of the tears that had been threatening to fall slid down her cheek. This couldn't be possible. She couldn't lose the two most important men in her life the same day.

 

“My father is moving me to America.”  

 

Ladybug’s world stopped. It stopped crumbling, though it sure as hell wasn't repairing itself. It all just _stopped_. She stared at Chat Noir as puzzle pieces started to fit themselves together in her mind. Similarities between Chat and Adrien became so crystal clear she wondered how she'd never noticed before.

 

Hair color, eye color, their smirks, even the way Adrien held himself when he was completely relaxed; the characteristics were virtually identical.

 

 _How did I never noticed this before?_ She thought, horrorstuck. She shook her head. It could still be a coincidence. She focused on Chat who wiped away a tear of his own.

 

“What makes this even _worse,_ if possible, is that I have to tell her _twice._ I’ve told her I’m leaving as my civilian self, but… I’ll have to do it again as Chat Noir.”  Ladybug could only stare at him, not quite comprehending the words coming out of his mouth. “I… Well, I like to visit her as Chat Noir too,”  He explained softly.

 

Marinette died on the inside. _Coincidence my ass. Chat is Adrien and Adrien is Chat._ Ladybug moved over and embraced Chat. He sighed and buried his head in her shoulder, and she swore she heard her heart break for the second time that day. _I've managed to fall for the same person twice_ … _and I’m not sure what to do_.

 

That was when it truly hit Ladybug just how much she needed Chat to stay in Paris.

 

“Chat…”  Ladybug’s voice caught. She swallowed, attempting to fight off more tears.  “Please stay,” she whispered. Chat looked at her, tears sliding down his cheeks.

 

“My Lady I would love nothing more than to listen to you.”  he murmured, voice cracking. Chat turned from her, as though he couldn’t bear to look at her for any longer than he had to. He tried to pull away, but she pulled him closer, refusing to let him go.

 

“Then _do_ !”  She pleaded, trying to get him to look at her again.  “ _Please_ , Chaton, _look_ at me! I _can't_ do this without you!”  

 

“You won't have to.”  

 

Ladybug’s eyes widened.

 

“What do you mean?”  she breathed. Chat began twiddling his fingers, trying not to let his nerves show.

 

“I… talked to Master Fu today.”  Ladybug froze, suddenly feeling numb, and Chat managed to extricate himself from her.

 

“No,”  She whispered.

 

“My Lady-”

 

“ _No_ Chat. Absolutely not. Nobody is replacing you.”  She crossed the distance Chat had put between them, pulling him into another embrace. This time he melded into her as she placed a hand on his cheek, looking him in the eyes.  “ _You_ are my Chat Noir, and I refuse to have anyone replace you. Not now not ever.”  

 

Chat opened his eyes and gave her a shaky smile. “Well you won't have to worry about that for a good while. I don't have to give up my Miraculous,”  he reassured her. This information did appease Ladybug a bit, but she wasn't thrilled to say the least. She was still too stunned by the whole “Adrien is Chat Noir” thing to have a proper reaction to this new development.

 

“So...who will the new person be then?”  

 

Chat only shook his head in response, releasing her again.

 

“Master Fu wouldn't tell me. He seemed a little sad that I leave, but he didn’t seem surprised. It was almost like he already knew that he would have to find another Miraculous holder. And even though I don’t know who the holder will _be,_ he said they’d be chosen by tomorrow, so I should be able to meet them before I leave.”

 

Ladybug could only nod, unable to speak. There were those words again. “ _before I leave.”_ Ladybug let her eyes drop in order to not show Chat the sadness they contained. She hated those words. The fact that Chat/Adrien was leaving was really sinking in now; the numbness had returned again. Chat pulled her in again and she had never been more grateful for his ability to read her. She clung to him for a few moments, trying to stay strong. She was Ladybug after all. She needed to at least pretend she'd be fine. The crying could wait until she got home. Whether she would be able to complete patrol tonight was a different matter altogether. Fortunately it seemed like Chat was having the same thought process.

 

“Maybe patrol is a bad idea.” Chat murmured.

 

“You're probably right.”  Ladybug said shakily. “I'll see you tomorrow?”  Chat could only nod in reply. He turned to leave, then hesitated. He stepped back to her and kissed her cheek. Then he was gone, vaulting over a rooftop and out of sight. Ladybug quickly took off across the rooftops, trying to ignore the fact that if she concentrated, she could still feel Chat’s (ADRIEN’S) lips on her cheek. She knew Chat was going to come visit her as Mari. She just didn't know when. Ladybug hoped he took a little while. If he did she could pretend that “Ladybug” told “Marinette” so she didn't have to pretend to be shocked when he told her himself.

 

Her luck managed to hold despite how terrible the day had been so far and Chat showed up two hours after they had left patrol, a rose in his hands. And, although Marinette had prepared what she wanted to say to him for the last hour (even going so far as to rehearse so that she wouldn’t hurt Chat), all of her preperations flew out the window when Chat had entered from the balcony.

 

“Evening _mon Princessa_ ,”  he said with a smile as he landed next to Marinette on the balcony.

 

“Don’t,”  she whispered.

 

He stopped immediately. His smile vanished without a trace, and the rose he held in his hand dropped to his side. Marinette was leaning on her railing, and despite her best efforts, couldn’t make herself look Chat in the eyes. So she stared out over Paris, searching for the words she’d spent the night preparing.

 

“She told you.”  He said, finally confronting the tension hovering in the air.

 

It wasn’t a question.

 

“In tears.”  Marinette whispered.  “Why the hell can’t you stay?”

 

“My father-”

 

Marinette rounded on him, glaring.  “No, look at me Chat. _Look at me.”_

 

Chat forced himself to look into Marinette’s eyes. He winced when he saw how bloodshot they were. She had clearly been crying.  

 

“Tell me why you’re leaving,”  She demanded. He averted his gaze again, eyes swimming with guilt. She grabbed his face and forced him to face her again.  “ _Tell_ me.”

 

“I’m scared,”  He whispered.

 

“Why?”  

 

Chat tried to look away again but Marinette didn’t let him.

 

“I can’t answer that,”  he finally decided.

 

“The hell you can’t.”

 

“Mari you don’t understand, I actually can’t.”  He said, voice pleading.

 

“Is this about your identity? Is that why you can’t tell me?”  Chat shook his head.

 

“That would make this about fifty times easier to explain actually.”

 

“Then. Tell. Me.”  She growled.

 

“Marinette, no.”

 

“Are you scared of your emotions?”

 

“What?”  Chat looked taken aback by the question.  “No of course not.”

 

“Are you scared of your father?”  He twitched and didn’t answer. “That’s a yes. Why?”  He glanced away. “And that’s what you can’t tell me. See how easy that was?”

 

“Don’t mock me.”  Chat snarled.

 

“Then resist your father.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Why not? Come on. You’re Chat Noir kick his ass.”  Marinette knew she was pushing her boundaries but she wanted a reaction. Chat’s ring beeped but she didn’t care. He glanced towards the balcony, but she grabbed his wrist. She wasn’t letting him leave.  

 

“You are not going _anywhere.”_ She growled.  “Come on Chat! Do _something._ Be the Chat Noir the city believes in! Or is that all a front? I wonder if the cat is really just a scared little kitty on the inside, too scared to fight. How you’ve ever been a help to Ladybug, I’ll never know.”  

 

Marinette could have sworn she felt the temperature in the room drop as Chat’s gaze suddenly turned icy. She took a step back and watched as what she had just said replayed in his head. He was pissed. Scratch that. He was _livid_ . His tail was lashing angrily, and his ears were flattened against his head. And he had every right to be. Marinette had basically just called him a coward, and accused him of being useless to Ladybug, something she _knew_ was a sensitive subject. They’d had many a discussion about it, both as Marinette and Ladybug, where she’d told him time and time again, “Yes she needs you silly cat”, and “No kitty, I _can’t_ do this without you.” It had hurt to pull that out, but she wanted _him._ Not the scared version of himself he was showing her right now.

 

Chat’s eyes snapped back to her, filled with a burning rage, and Marinette had a strong sudden desire to go hide in a corner.

 

“How dare you.”  He snarled. “How _fucking dare you.”_ He began to stalk toward her, face contorted with fury.  “You think that I want to do nothing? You think that after years of neglect and abuse I don’t want to get out? You really think I want nothing more than to tell my father to ‘fuck off’ and stay in Paris? _I literally can’t._ I don’t actually have any money to my name because I’m not 18 and all the money I’ve made has gone to him. He’ll disown me, which I would have no problem with if that was all he would do. But it’s _not_ all he’ll do. Because he will follow me wherever I go. He will make sure my life is a miserable hell no matter what I do. If I get a job? He’ll make sure I get fired. New apartment? Application denied. If the person in charge won’t cave he’ll shut the whole place down. If I moved in with one of my friends, he’d take down their lives as well as mine. _That is the only reason I didn’t leave years ago._ ”  He had reached her and was inches away from her face. Marinette held her breath as she watched the anger in his eyes start to fade, replaced by despair

 

“I’m not afraid for _me_ Marinette. I could care less what the repercussions to me would be. I’m afraid for everyone I love.”  He took another breath and Marinette felt her heart crumble as she saw the tears in his eyes. “Which is why I said ‘no’ to you today. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but if he found out I had a girlfriend… Everything you and your parents had ever worked for… gone in a heartbeat.”  

 

Marinette felt tears come to her eyes as she realized Adrien had told her his secret. Despite the fact she’d figured it out herself a few hours before, that he willingly told her made her love him even more if that was even possible.

 

“Adrien,”  She whispered. He nodded and looked at her nervously, shuffling his feet, clearly dreading her reaction. She smiled, tears rolling down her face.  “I love you too you silly kitty. But there’s something _you_ need to know.”  And before she could talk herself out of it, she said her words.  

 

“Tikki. Spots on.”  

 

She heard Chat’s gasp as she transformed and as she emerged from her transformation she saw the look of pure shock in his eyes.

 

“Wow,”  he breathed. The look in his eyes shifted from shock to adoration and… something else Marinette couldn't quite place.

 

“I know...”  she murmured, shifting her foot anxiously.  “I’m not exactly who you pictured for Ladybug.”

 

An incredulous laugh leapt out of Chat’s mouth, and Marinette stared at him quizically.

 

“Mari…”  Chat said, almost reverently.  “I couldn’t have picked anyone better. I’m amazed I never connected the dots before now. Don't bring yourself down. You're incredible. I said “wow” because I managed to fall in love with you twice.”

 

Marinette de-transformed and pulled Chat into an embrace, and the two stood for there for what felt like hours. A glance at the clock, however, showed that it had only lasted 5 minutes. Chat’s ring killed the mood, beeping another warning. A fangirling Tikki was fairly certain that Plagg had done that on purpose.

 

“Gods princess I’m so sorry.”  he whispered. “I don’t want to leave.”

 

“Stay.”  She whispered. “I know it’s you.”  Chat shook his head.

 

“Nathalie said he wanted to speak to me tonight. I’m cutting it close as it is. If I want any freedom… Well let’s just say I can’t miss this.”  Mari looked into his eyes, still holding him. He wanted to kiss her. She could feel it. The air was thick with tension. Both were liable to snap at any moment and she knew if one of them did, the other wouldn’t resist. She really, really, wanted to go over that edge - just one kiss would do it. But something held her back. Held both of them back. And that thing was the looming threat of Gabriel Agreste.

 

Marinette was pissed. She had finally confessed to Adrien, her three year crush only for him to deny her because of his father. Rationally she knew she shouldn't be mad; but at the moment she wanted nothing more than to judo throw her kitten onto her bed and not let him leave. Unfortunately, rationale won out and Marinette sighed, hating the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

 

“You should go.”

“I should go.”

 

The two looked at each other before Chat smirked. Despite their agreeing statements a few more moments passed before Chat sighed and pulled back, a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. He looked down at her sadly.

 

“Glad to know we agree.”  He walked slowly towards the balcony, with her following. He turned around at the railing and took her hand, kissing it, his green eyes never leaving her blue.  “I’ll see you tomorrow… My Lady.” And with that, he disappeared into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you the reveal would come early. I did it like that for one very important reason. I wanted to.
> 
> :D
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think with comments please. :)
> 
> Also thanks to CallMeAkumatized for editing this. Much obliged, love you a lot.
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](https://nebilas-writes.tumblr.com/) if you like my stuff. :) I have two main WIP's going. This one and my Miraculous Harry Potter AU. :) So yeah! Check it out!
> 
> Until Next Time!  
> ~Nebilas~


	3. Rationality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small box finds its way into Adrien's room, and now he needs to make a house call to a certain reporter...

_"When we don't know who to hate, we hate ourselves."_

_-Chuck Palahniuk, 'Invisible Monsters'_

 

**Chapter 3**

 

Adrien jumped through his window and landed just as his transformation ended. He flopped onto his bed with one bound and stared at the ceiling.

 

 _Marinette is Ladybug,_ he thought numbly. He shook his head in disbelief. Funny… if he’d learned this just 24 hours before, he would be doing flips and cartwheels out of excitement but now… it was meaningless.

 

It hurt just how much he loved her. The fact that he could never be with her was hitting him with full force and it _burned._ It didn’t help that she had been _right there._

 

She had been so close. His heart sped up just thinking about it. He had almost kissed her, almost caved in to the temptation. But he knew it could only end in disaster. He knew, and he was certain she knew too, that it was a bad idea. Possibly the worst he’d ever had. And he still wanted it… _her_ , so badly.

 

 _Well I could be with her,_ he rationalized. _But I can’t ask her to wait for me like that. I don’t know when I’ll be back, if ever._

 

There was a sharp knock on his door.

 

“Adrien, your father will see you now,”  Nathalie informed him.

 

“Good for him,”  Adrien muttered as he got up. He opened the door and checked to see if anyone was there before addressing his kwami.  “You stay here,” he said, glaring at Plagg suspiciously. Plagg put up his paws in a ‘what did I do?’ gesture, but Adrien was already closing the door.

 

He began his trek through the mansion, absentmindedly trailing his left hand along the wall. He hated this place. He hated almost everything about it. The unnecessary size, the emptiness of it, all of the things he had no use for in his room, and, recently, now that he had been to other people’s houses, the lack of pictures on the walls. There were very few pictures of anyone other than himself in his own house, and he despised it. He saw it as a constant reminder of who he had to be, though perhaps that was his father's intention.

 

Adrien sighed as he reached the office, and he rapped on the door. To his surprise, nobody answered for a few moments. He heard something fall on the floor before his father finally acknowledged him.

 

“Come in.”  

 

Adrien slowly opened the door and entered.  “You wanted to see me?” _What now Dad, you’ve already destroyed my life, why not go again?_

 

 _“_ You leave in three days.”  

 

Adrien stared at his father, nodding slowly.  “And?”

 

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. Adrien stared back blankly. He knew his father would never just call him for something small like that. He would have had Nathalie do it.

 

“Don’t disrespect me, Adrien.”  

 

Adrien’s mouth fell open. How the _hell_ had that been disrespect?

 

“Sorry, father.”  he murmured. He knew by now just to move on from what his father said in these situations. His father nodded and stood.

 

“It has come to my attention that you were looking at colleges before you learned of your trip to America.”  

 

Adrien almost scoffed, but kept quiet. HIs “ _trip”._ Is that what it was going to be called now?  

 

“Why would you do such a foolish thing?”  

 

Adrien looked at his father in surprise.  “What do you mean? College is a necessity to get a job later on in life isn’t it?”  Adrien froze as he realized his mistake.

 

“So you intended to break away from the company. Yes... it _was_ a good idea to get you away from here. Clearly public school has done more harm than good. No matter,”  he continued, cutting off any protests Adrien might have had. “you will not be attending school in America either. You will continue to learn Chinese of course, as well as fencing, but apart from that and your shoots and interviews of course, that will be all you do.”  

 

Adrien felt himself become angry, and rational thought began to evade him.  “So your plan is to make sure I have no alternative future if I want one and become head of the company some day whether I want to or not?”  

 

His father turned a steely gaze on him. Adrien knew he’d messed up, but refused to back down now. Gabriel rose from his chair and slowly walked around the desk. Adrien swallowed nervously.

 

“Yes Adrien. That _is_ my plan. Do you have a problem with it?”  

 

Adrien shook his head ‘no’ quickly.

 

“I thought not.”  Gabriel said, face remaining impassive.  “But in case you need a reminder...” He grabbed Adrien by the throat and yanked him to his feet. Adrien gasped for air as his father held him there for a few moments.  “ _I own you.”_ he hissed, and he let him go.  “Get out of my office.” Adrien coughed a few times, trying to breathe normally, before making his way out of the office. But before he could leave, his father grabbed his shoulder.  “And let’s not forget your friends. It would be… Unfortunate If someone were to say… Put the Dupain-Cheng Bakery out of business. Or perhaps Ms. Cesaire out of a job at her hospital. With Alya and her siblings having no source of income…. Well… Who knows what might happen.”  He shoved Adrien out of his office and slammed the door on him.

 

Adrien felt tears running down his face. He quickly wiped them away and began walking back the way he came. The portrait of him and his father seemed to mock him as he walked into the main hall. Looming and foreboding. A constant reminder of his mother’s absence. He stopped and stared at it.

 

“I hate you.”  He whispered. But he wasn’t sure if he was talking to his father’s image or his own.

 

Adrien took a deep breath before he entered his room, hoping Plagg wouldn’t say anything. This hope lasted about thirty seconds.

 

“What did he want?”  the kwami asked, gnawing on some camembert. Adrien could hear the concern in his voice, despite Plagg’s attempt to sound apathetic.

 

“Just reviewing what he expects from me,”  Adrien responded, injecting some dryness into his voice and hoping the kwami would leave it at that. Plagg however, had no intentions of leaving it at just that.

 

“That was all?”  

 

Adrien could hear the underlying question in the kwami’s tone and tensed..

 

“Yes,”  he said, praying that his kwami would accept this response and move on.

 

“Mmm.”  Plagg responded, stuffing another camembert slice into his mouth and never taking his eyes off of the teenager in front of him.  “I don’t believe you. But I have no proof so I’ll let it slide this time.”

 

Adrien sighed in relief. He moved towards his bed and fell onto it heavily, allowing gravity to take hold of him. The long day began to catch up with him as he started to feel more drained with each passing second.

 

Despite his exhaustion, he kept his eyes open. This was by no means the first time his father had threatened him, nor was it an uncommon occurrence to be on the end of a physical attack of some sort. But threatening his friends… that was new, and Adrien wasn’t sure if he was emotionally prepared for it.

 

His eyes began to sting and he wiped at them angrily. His fingers came away wet. Adrien let out a bitter chuckled and rose, shakily climbing off his bed.

 

He took off his shirt and tossed it in the general direction of his laundry basket, too tired to actually put it in. He found himself torn between going to look in the mirror or allowing sleep to wash his issues away, if only temporarily. The promise of sleep won out, and he quickly slid under his covers and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

 

“Night Plagg,”  He murmured.

 

“Night kid,”  His kwami responded. It took Adrien longer than he would have liked to fall asleep, but he finally did, thoughts of a certain blue haired girl occupying his thoughts.

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

Adrien had the misfortune of waking up at four in the morning, which was early even for him. He rolled in his bed for a few minutes, trying to see if sleep would welcome him back into its embrace. Finding no such solace, he eventually gave up and propped himself up on his elbows with a sigh, mentally preparing himself for a long day.

 

The good news was it was the last day of school, which meant they would be doing next to nothing in class. And because it was the last day, they would have a half day. Adrien tried to determine if this was a good thing or a bad thing, weighing the pros and cons. The pro was simple, in that he wouldn’t be about to die from schoolwork at the end of the day. The con was that he would have to tell Alya and Nino what all had happened yesterday, and _they_ might kill him.

 

He flopped back onto his pillow, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. Today was probably going to suck no matter what he did. He just hoped he’d be able to explain the situation before they started punching him. Then he came to another realization. The fact that he had to leave in three days might leave Ladybug on an island. _Marinette. Marinette on an island._ A frown worked its way onto his face. He needed more than a restless night to wrap his head around that development. A happy development, yes, but not one he'd considered.

 

 _If I leave_ that _soon, she might not have a partner in time. She’d be by herself for at least a day._ His thought process was interrupted by something entering through the window and landing on the floor. He immediately rolled off the bed, landing on his feet, prepared for an attack. When nothing happened he cautiously poked his head out and saw the object that had come into his room was a small ornate box. He heard a gasp and found Plagg staring at the box in excitement.

 

“Plagg,”  Adrien began, warily peering over his bed.  “do you recognize the box?”

 

“It’s a Miraculous box!”  Plagg said excitedly. “I think Fu wants _you_ to drop it off. See if there’s a note with it.”

 

Adrien walked over to the small box, still on edge. He had learned over the past three years not to trust the appearance of anything. But indeed there was a note on top. He picked it up and read as Plagg floated over to his shoulder.

 

_Mr. Agreste,_

 

_I’m glad you woke up early, this makes life much easier. I would like for you to drop off and possibly explain the powers of this Miraculous to the next wielder. It is a person you know quite well I believe. Her name is Alya Cesaire. She will be given the Fox Miraculous. However I must warn you. Please refrain from telling Alya your identity. I am aware that you and Marinette have recently stumbled upon the truth, to which I believe my own kwami said, and I quote, “Fucking finally.” But try not to tell Alya. It could prove catastrophic if Hawkmoth wanted to blackmail you into coming back to France. (I have not forgotten your desire to remain, but once you leave you must come back on your own terms, not Hawkmoths.) I hope you have a safe trip to America. Good luck and good wishes._

 

_Fu_

 

Adrien reread the letter to make sure he had read it properly. _Alya. Of course._ Adrien grinned. He knew he had nothing to worry about, at least as far as Mari and the new Miraculous holder getting along. He would still worry about them, but he always worried.

 

_And now you won’t be able to help._

 

Adrien shrugged off this thought, but was still filled with a sense of unease. He glanced at Plagg who grinned at him.

 

“Let’s go talk to the WiFi girl.”

 

“You actually remember her?”  Adrien was surprised to say the least.

 

“She smelled like cheese.”

 

“I… Okay.”  Adrien didn’t feel like pursuing that topic, and shook his head to clear the idea from his head. “Claws out Plagg.”

 

Chat grabbed the ornate box before leaping out of the window. He left the property and proceeded to run at a brisk pace to Alya’s house. He had been once for her birthday party last year, as well as having done the occasional Ladyblog interview, so after fifteen minutes, he had arrived. He frowned at her window.

 

 _This could be problematic,_ he thought to himself.

 

The window was in an awkward position. Unlike Marinette he didn’t have a balcony to help him either. Chat sighed, a plan forming in his head, and he quickly jumped to her building’s roof and dropped off the side.

 

After a second of freefall he caught himself on Alya’s windowsill with his claws. Now another problem presented itself, which was that he could only use one hand, because he was still holding the box. He frowned, until the window suddenly opened. Alya’s head popped out and she stared down at him blearily.

 

“Chat Noir?”  she asked, yawning.  “What’s wrong? Is there an akuma or something? Has something happened to Ladybug?”

 

“Calm down Alya,”  Chat laughed. “Can you take this box for a second? We need to talk.”  

 

Alya reached down and took the box then moved away from the window so Chat could leap in. He did so fluidly, sliding in through her window as Alya examined the box in her hands. She shrugged and set it down on her desk before she sat down on her bed.

 

The reporter spared him a glance before moving over to a bowl in her room, filled with fruit and instant coffee, the latter of which she had in excess. Chat Noir had dropped by more than once after acceptable hours, either for an interview or simply to check in on his friend, though that had been during a rough stretch in her and Nino’s relationship.

 

“Have a seat,”  Alya invited sleepily. Chat immediately dropped onto the floor, crossing his legs.  “So what can I do for you? It’s very early so if it isn’t an emergency, can you hurry this up?”  Alya yawned as she said this, hiding it behind her hand.

 

“You won’t be half asleep after this.”  Chat chuckled. “But alright. I’ll keep it simple. Paris is going to have a new hero soon.”  

 

Alya’s drowsiness vanished in a millisecond. Now she was staring at Chat with rapt attention.

 

“Ok maybe the long version this time,”  she said sheepishly.

 

Chat grinned.  “Thought that would get your attention. Here’s what you need to know. Unfortunately, Ladybug will be needing a new partner. Situations have arisen that are out of my control, and I will be temporarily ‘leaving the claws in’, so to speak.”  

 

“ _What?? Why?_ ”  Alya exploded. The reporter practically dove across the room towards her laptop, firing off questions as she went.  “Are you leaving? Why can’t you fight? Are you injured? Did you two have an argument? Why are you telling _me_ this?”  

 

Chat held up a hand and she fell silent.

 

“To answer your questions, I can’t tell you why I’m leaving, purely for your safety. I’m _not_ injured. We did _not_ have an argument... if anything…”  Chat trailed off at this and coughed, avoiding Alya’s piercing gaze.  “Anyways as for your last question that’s the real reason I’m here.” He stood up and retrieved the Miraculous box, and handed it to her.

 

She took it, giving him a confused look. Then her eyes widened.  “What’s in it?” she asked, a tone of excitement in her voice.

 

Chat smiled, wondering if she could see the sadness that his smile contained.  “The ability to fill a vacancy… If you would like to.”

 

Alya took off the lid and the two saw a necklace nestled perfectly in the center. It was orange and white with a silver chain, and Alya reached out to take it but hesitated. She glanced at Chat, who gave her an encouraging nod.

 

“Put it on.”  He said with a small smile.

 

Her face lit up with a grin and she quickly put it on. There was a flash of orange light and something came spiraling out of the necklace.

 

“Ohhhhhhhh! Yes!”  The kwami shouted doing a few backflips.  “Four hundred and fifty years will give you such a headache you know?”  It began surveying the room.

 

“What is that?”  Alya asked Chat faintly.

 

“That… is a kwami. A fox one by the look of it,”  Chat said smirking.

 

“Is it normal?”  Alya asked as it flew around her room.

 

“Yes. But I’d hide your phone.”  Chat advised. Alya quickly did so as the new kwami began to float around the room. It was orange and white, with purple eyes, and looked everything like a miniature fox minus the human-esque face.

 

“Oh wow a lot has changed! What does this do?”  the kwami asked, floating towards a light switch and bumping it. The lights turned on and her eyes flew wide.  “WHOA!!! That’s awesome!! You guys have done well for yourselves! Did you finally harness electricity? Well done!”  Then the kwami gasped as it spotted something else. “Is that an apple??” They asked, suddenly timid.

 

“Uhm… yes”  a bemused Alya confirmed.

 

“Can I eat it? I’m very hungry.”

 

“Oh yes of course!”  Alya said with an inviting smile. The kwami immediately took off across the room and began to devour the apple.  “Do you have one of these?” Alya muttered to Chat.

 

Chat laughed.  “Yeah I do. You’re lucky. Mine only eats camembert cheese. I’d kill for him to like apples instead.”  Alya laughed at his suddenly grouchy expression and Chat just rolled his eyes.

 

“Thank you so much.”  the kwami said, eyes shining.  “I’m Trixx. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier but everything is so different now!”

 

“I’m Alya.”  Alya said extending a hand. She quickly realized that the kwami couldn’t shake her hand and started to retract it, but Trixx clearly appreciated the gesture because the kwami started nuzzling Alya’s cheek.

 

“Ooooh you’re much more polite than my last chosen.”  She dropped into Alya’s now cupped hands and smiled at her.

 

Chat smiled, but he couldn’t find the will to be happy. As he stared at Alya talking to her kwami happily, his father’s threats rang through his mind… _perhaps Ms. Cesaire out of a job at her hospital. With Alya and her siblings having no source of income…. Well… Who knows what might happen._ Chat clenched his fists in anger but closed his eyes, trying to fight away another storm of anger.

 

This was when Trixx noticed Chat standing there. The kwami smiled and greeted him.  “Oh! Are you Chat Noir?”

 

“I am. Very nice to meet you Trixx.”  The kwami giggled and swished her tail happily.

 

“How’s Plagg? I haven’t seen him in ages. I think the last time I saw him was what… 1550?”

 

“He looked very excited when he saw your box.”  Chat said, smiling a bit.

 

 _“_ Yes I’m sure. I always did encourage his terrible ideas, mostly for my entertainment though.”  Chat only shook his head as Trixx laughed.

 

“Who’s Plagg?”  Alya asked curiously.

 

“My kwami.”  Chat replied.  “Which reminds me, I should leave a message for Ladybug to warn her.”

 

“Warn her?”  Alya asked.

 

“Well yes. She has a distrust of Volpina after the Lila fiasco.”  Alya turned to her kwami.

 

“I get to be Volpina??”  She whisper shouted. Her kwami nodded, an amused look on its face.  “And I get to fight with Ladybug?” Alya squealed.

 

Chat nodded this time, fiddling with his baton.  “Well you two have fun. I’m gonna call LB and then head home. Oh also, as I’m sure Trixx will tell you, try to keep your identity a secret. Though if you tell Ladybug I promise you won’t regret it. Just do me a favor and call me while you do it so I can see her face.”

 

“Sure thing… Wait why would she react oddly?”  Alya asked quickly.

 

Chat only grinned and winked before falling back out of the window. He actually impressed himself with the way he used his baton to catapult his way across the street. He landed and immediately called Ladybug, not expecting a reply. To his surprise she answered.

 

“Kitty what’s wrong?”  His heart skipped a beat at the nickname but he was able to get past it. He started running home, hoping Natalie wouldn’t come get him up early for some reason.

 

“Nothing’s wrong right now. At least not as far as Chat is concerned. Just giving you a heads up I dropped off the fox kwami with the new girl.”  He was greeted with a long, prolonged silence. “LB?” He asked gently.

 

“Yeah!”  She said quickly, snapped out of her thoughts.  “Sorry, just.. Yeah.”

 

“Also she doesn’t know our identities yet. She’ll go by Volpina but I know for a fact you can trust her.”

 

“Well… Alright. Why Volpina though?”

 

“She’s more than capable,”  Chat said, trying to reassure her and vault a chimney at the same time.

 

“She won’t be you, Chat.”  

 

Chat stopped running and stared at his baton. Ladybug was adamantly _not_ looking at her yoyo.

 

“Do you need me to visit?”  he asked gently.

 

“Yes.”  She whispered.  “But you can’t can you? And even if you could…”  she let it hang there and Chat nodded in understanding.

 

“I’ll see you in a few hours at least,”  He murmured. “Last day and all.”

 

“I have a feeling I’m not going to enjoy it,”  she responded. “Alya and Nino might bite our heads off though.”

 

“Just mine once I’m done speaking, I think,”  Adrien said, sitting down against a rooftop wall. A few moments of silence passed.  “You’ll be ok my lady,”

 

He got a shaky laugh in response.

 

“I don’t think that’ll necessarily be true,”  

 

He didn’t have a response for her.  

 

“I’ll see you at school Kitty.”  She hung up.

 

Adrien stared at his baton sadly and stood up, before walking to the edge of the roof and continuing his run home, his thoughts swirling in his head. As he entered his room, he left his transformation and Plagg stretched as he swirled out of the ring adorning Adrien’s finger. Plagg drifted away to finish the rest of the cheese on the desk.

 

Adrien dropped onto his bed, while staring at the ceiling.

 

 _I can’t let them get hurt by him._ This was the one phrase that he could agree with his mind on. He had decided this long ago when he became Chat. But back then he had been thinking about Hawkmoth. This time… it was his father he was worried about. Adrien rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

 

 _I have to go to America,_ he thought bleakly.

 

This was when Natalie knocked on the door to wake him up. He didn’t bother getting up from his bed. He was all but ready for the day, and he knew there was no way he was going to be eating breakfast.

 

 _Maybe America won’t be terrible._ He tried to reason with himself.

 

_Ding!_

 

Adrien rolled over and grabbed his phone. It was a text from Marinette.

 

_Hey. Just letting you know I’m gonna be a little late to school, so don’t freak out when I’m not there. I’ll be there for you during lunch._

 

He let this wash over him for a few moments before sending a quick but genuine _thank you._ He rolled back over and resumed his staring challenge with the ceiling. He began to think about Mari and what life would be like without her. He scoffed.

 

_America won’t be so bad my ass._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Hope you guys liked this chapter. It was a bit of a setup piece, but next chapter things pick up a bit.
> 
> Thank you Maki for editing this. I don't know how you can stand my lack of punctuation skills but I appreciate it.
> 
> Here's my [tumblr](https://nebilas-writes.tumblr.com/) if you're interested. :)
> 
> Hope to see you guys soon, I'll try to get the next chapter edited right quick.
> 
> Love you all!  
> ~Nebilas~


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